The house is silent again now that the Easter break is over. Everyone has returned to work or university and I'm alone again; watching as a great bank of Groaky mist creeps up the side of Causey Pike and some wind battered daffodils bob about outside the window like a Lake District cliche. Soon the trees and hedges will be thick with leaves and the view will be hidden until Autumn.These pictures were taken over the Easter weekend when we were bathed in sunlight and blue skies and the fells looked like the frayed old brown velvet on the pocket edges of my great grandma's coat. Sara and I looked down from Scope End and enjoyed a hot Brandy and Ribena with chocolate eggs which made the rest of the walk a bit wobbly.So much has happened in the tiny way it does when you're not really making plans ... red squirrels spotted in Dodd Wood, soft Magnolia buds on the bridge at Grange and the Snake's Head Fritillary I forgot I'd rescued from "home" is flowering in an old tin box by the door.Trying to build a new life from scratch, I'm hoping to become a volunteer at the Calvert Trust's Stables, helping with Riding for the Disabled sessions and I'm really enjoying my days in the Northern Lights Gallery, getting inspired by some of the artists (Patricia Haskey is my favourite at the moment).Looking at work that sells ( big painterly landscapes here)  and needing to find a direction of some sort ...... "For oft, when on my couch I lie, In vacant or in pensive mood...." ( do I just draw for fun or am I still trying to make things that will sell?) I'm sketching and looking and thinking hard about my postponed place at Harrogate BCTF next year. Thank goodness I didn't go ahead this year as it is this very week and my head is still a fuzzy jumble; kept awake by imagined confrontations with ukip supporters on quad bikes and sudden fury over lost family heirloom irises and worry that the swallows may return and be locked out...Anyway, there's no point in looking back when Spring is here and everything is new. The bantams have settled in quite happily and lay more eggs than I can use; at Easter we hard-boiled and decorated them for passing walkers, along with little wraps of salt. The only trouble is we have a furry visitor who is causing havoc.... Mr Stoat.While is is wonderful to see this little person scampering about fearlessly ( nothing much survived the gamekeepers traps at Snilesworth) it is not so good for the poor hens. So far he is only stealing eggs but I fear it could be worse. Here he is, standing 3 feet from the window staring  at me bold as brass...well he was here first.So, it's time to feed the monster stove and maybe draw a little something. I've just ordered some new greetings cards for my Etsy shop, here is a sneak preview; what do you think? Bye for now and good luck to all those taking part in the BCTF. xReading: The Keswick Reminder        Listening To : "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen" Baz Luhrmann & Quindon Tarver